A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of Witwatersrand, in 50% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Management in the field of Public Policy June 2017 / Successfully translating policy intentions to desired policy outputs has been identified as a challenge that most developing countries and emerging democracies are faced with. In the early 1970s theorists and researchers realised that in part the problem is not paying enough attention to policy implementation. As a result, more research effort was put into understanding policy implementation and what factors contribute towards or impede a successful implementation of policies. This research is aimed at exploring the factors that contribute to successful implementation of policies in South African Local Government. Focus has been put on institutional provisions that are put in place by these local government institutions to support the implementation of policies. The policy used for the purposes of this study is the National Policy Framework on Public Participation (NPFPP) and the area of focus is the Ugu District. The study followed the qualitative method and nineteen (19) in-depth interviews were held with members of government, civil society and community members and representatives. Municipal documents were analysed for purposes of validating information received from interviews. The study found that there are structural and systemic challenges that contribute to low levels of success in implementing the NPFPP in the Ugu district. This is mainly due to the fact that there are inadequate and ineffective provisions for public participation in the district. Issues identified include lack of capacity within municipalities, both in terms of understanding policy requirements and the number of staff available to implement the policy. Furthermore, there was no perceived involvement of all the strategic units within the municipality to implement the policy. The external structures put in place by the municipalities in accordance with the provisions of the policy, that is, ward committees and IDP processes, proved inadequate and ineffective. The study also found that communities were unaware of their right and responsibility to participate in municipal matters. However, willingness and eagerness to work with the municipalities was displayed by both communities and civil society organizations. The study concluded by making recommendations for implementation of the NPFPP in local government generally and also recommendations for the specific area of interest. / MT 2017

The research report is hereby submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Development Planning to the School of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / The main aim of the study is to investigate the significance of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (16 OF 2013) (SPLUMA) and its possible implications on land allocation in areas under traditional authority. In order to achieve this, the Act was reviewed as a data collection mechanism. This was done in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the act and its objectives before attempting to formulate the implications of this Act on land allocation in areas under traditional authority .This study explored how this new planning legislation (i.e. SPLUMA) will affect the roles and functions of traditional leaders in rural development and overall service provision, focusing mainly on land allocation. The research study discovered that SPLUMA was a significant Spatial and Land Use Management legislation in South Africa which is central in addressing issues of land rights and rural development. The findings were that there has been tension between traditional leaders and elected local government officials as they found contesting for power and authority in rural areas. This was because of the ambiguity and vagueness of the Constitution and the Traditional Leadership and Governance Act on issues of power and functions of the two institutions especially on matters of land allocation and administration. Another finding was regarding the socio-economic implication which showed that SPLUMA was a planning law which has potential to redress the socio-economic imbalances left by the colonial and apartheid regimes, but it requires the collaboration of traditional leaders as custodians of tribal land and customary law. Conclusions and key recommendations were that local government officials and traditional leaders need to cooperate on issues of land allocation and administration. However, clarification of roles and functions in SPLUMA regulations should be done to avoid tension and frustrations. Furthermore, there is also a need for national land allocation guidelines which traditional leaders should consider when allocating land. Lastly, capacitation of traditional leaders on spatial planning, land management and rural governance was indispensable in promoting land rights and rural development in areas under their jurisdiction. / MT2017

This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Science in Development Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / Municipal Planning in South Africa has evolved since the dawn of democracy. Before 1994, planning in the local sphere of government was characterised by segregation and disintegration of settlements and plans, respectively. After being welcomed back to the international community, particularly the United Nations, South Africa engaged in a process of reforming local government specifically - planning. As part of local government reforms, Integrated Development Plans (IDP)s were introduced in 2002 as the main tools for integrated planning in local, district and metropolitan municipalities. Integration requires that economic, social and environmental development initiatives are integrated in order to achieve “sustainable development”. During 1992, the United Nations Environmental Programme hosted a Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The conference developed and agreed upon specific principles of sustainable development which member states were to institutionalise as part of their development agenda and this culminated in the so-called “Agenda 21 Report”. The programme for further implementation of Agenda 21 and the commitments to the principles of sustainable development were re-affirmed at the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002. This study assesses the alignment of the Ehlanzeni District Municipality IDP with the principles of sustainable development as outlined in Annex 1 of Agenda 21. A questionnaire was designed and used to conduct semi-structured interviews with ten Planners from the District and the Mpumalanga Provincial Government. The findings indicate that the IDP of the EDM is not aligned with most of the principles of sustainable development that the assessment was based on. / MT2017

On October 26 1988, for the first time in the country’s history, South Africans of all races will be expected to go to the polls to elect their local government representatives. Never before have these elections been held together on the same day. That is about all that is historically "new" about the coming local authority elections. Yet to the government, the forthcoming municipal elections are all-important. So much so, that it is now an offense to call on people to boycott the elections. This booklet will attempt to find some explanations for why the coming municipal elections are so important to the government. How do they fit into the National Party’s political plans for the country and, most importantly, how do the majority of politically unrepresented South Africans view the elections and the structures of local government?

The Policy Unit of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has developed a number of strategic themes embracing many cross-cutting issues. The main thrust of the Unit’s work, however, focuses on the core mandate of the Bank - infrastructure. In order to provide for a coherent whole, rural infrastructure must fit into a broader policy framework. Globally, the goals set for the first two decades of the next millennium are to address poverty and achieve food security. The DBSA can contribute to South Africa’s position on these global themes by addressing the issue of rural infrastructure delivery, taking cognisance of the South African government’s Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) programme. This discussion document will specifically address the local economic development activities of farm production and rural livelihoods in order to achieve food security, address poverty and foster economic growth in the marginalised, infrastructure-deprived rural areas of the country. It is assumed that additional entrepreneurial economic opportunities will arise at village and town level as producers become nett surplus producers, eg in small grain milling, cottage industry, village markets, processing (value adding), etc. In contrast to urban development, where economic activity is assumed by investing in infrastructure, the DBSA will actively have to support the transformation of economic activity in the rural scenario. One of the past successes of the DBSA has been the introduction of the Farmer Support Programme (FSP). The FSP’s provision of services and support, based on the needs of existing smallholders, is embedded in participatory planning and action. Without local initiatives, rural infrastructure cannot be delivered effectively to bolster economic growth, create jobs and redistribute income. Most of the country’s poor live in rural areas, and without rural development there can be no GEAR. Life in these areas needs to be made liveable by encouraging entrepreneurial development, which includes facilitating agriculture, creating jobs and increasing rural income through appropriate government actions for improving the welfare of rural households. One of the ways in which national, provincial and local government could have a broad-based impact is by providing rural economic infrastructure and, to this end, local government, including regional and district councils, has been mandated to develop integrated development plans. These plans have to include economic development plans, and entrepreneurial development has been singled out as important in this regard. From this it follows that district councils and municipalities have a prime responsibility for developing entrepreneurs, including farmers in their rural constituency.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. School of Civil & Environmental Engineering Johannesburg, September 2015 / The research presented in this report set out to determine the extent to which cross-enterprise integration between three Municipal Owned Entities (MOEs) in Johannesburg, i.e. City Power, Johannesburg Water and Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), could be beneficial to the Council and users of the Council’s assets. The research included a comprehensive review of available literature to find the needs of / gaps in infrastructure asset management and examples of cross-enterprise integration. Interviews with MOEs’ personnel were conducted to determine current levels of infrastructure asset management. A library of the costs of potential hazards arising from damages caused by MOEs to other MOEs’ assets during maintenance tasks was compiled. A simulation exercise was conducted. The exercise involved the development and application of a computer program using Visual Basic for Applications programming tool. The program created a series of job cards for maintenance works by all MOEs using available asset data for a section of the city. Conflict areas were identified where work on one asset might compromise the integrity of other assets. Costs of the damage to the assets in terms of direct costs of repairs and users’ costs, due to lower levels of service, were quantified for each conflict point. The simulation exercise was run over a thirty year period. The average annual costs were costed using cost to benefit analysis. Expenses associated with the creation of new organisational structures and new cross-enterprise software systems were studied using available data in literature. The expenses and savings formed the basis of the cost to benefit analysis. The study shows that the introduction of a cross-enterprise integrated system can significantly reduce costs to the Council and users. There are several other benefits originating from cross-enterprise integration including more efficient use of skilled personnel, efficiency in issuing of way leaves, and improved integrity of asset data. The installation of such a system need not only service the three MOEs included in the study. It is possible that all owners of assets on Council property, including external organisations such as Telkom, Neotel, and Dark Fibre Africa, will benefit from cross-enterprise integration.

Thesis (MPA.) --University of Limpopo, 2006 / Refer to document

Thesis (M.Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / The purpose of this study was to determine the challenges that hinder the Greater Tzaneen Municipality from rendering water service delivery to Mokgolobotho villagers and the villagers’ perceptions of their livelihoods without adequate municipal water supply. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative research. Two groups of respondents participated in the study. The data was gathered from 100 respondents from Mokgolobotho village, and of the 100 respondents, 90 were residents from 30 households, 1 chief, 3 indunas, 1 ward councillor,3 ward committee members and 2 NGOs. The respondents from the community (households) were randomly sampled and a questionnaire was administered to them ,while those who participated in the interview were purposefully sampled. The scarcity of water at Mokgolobotho village has a negative impact on a number of aspects; the economic development of the village, the academic performance of learners, health of the community members is also at risk as they share water with animals (Mopani Herald, 2014:3) and it also increases the death rate caused by car accidents as villagers cross the R36 Lydenburg main road to get water at the Dan Extension 2 (Reconstruction and Development Programme Settlement). The Department of Water Affairs is very aware of the anomalies in water distribution, where people reside adjacent to water sources and yet have no access to a source of safe and reliable drinking water. Section 27 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution states that everyone has the right to have access to sufficient water, and the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures to achieve the progressive realization of this right. The Greater Tzaneen Municipality has failed to implement this section of the Bill of Rights at Mokgolobotho Village. The study recommends that the fulfilment of the constitutional mandate by the Greater Tzaneen Municipality and the active involvement of all the stakeholders will solve the water service delivery problem in Mokgolobotho Village.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2003 / Refer to document

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2001 / Refer to the document